A camera with a 70-200mm lens sat on a wall by Coniston Water for most of Wednesday afternoon. Its owner was fifty metres away, standing waist-deep in the lake, shooting Bluebird K7. He had no idea it was there.
Rob Clifford had brought three cameras to the Bluebird K7 Festival. He came home with two. He is the sort of photographer who wades into lakes and climbs down cliff faces on ropes to get the shot he wants, and his UK offshore racing work shows what that produces.
Wednesday at Coniston was no different. At some point during the afternoon, one camera ended up on a wall near the lake; neither Rob nor his partner Sue had noticed. The realisation came back at the cottage, in the form of a short exchange about who had the camera with the 70-200 on it. Neither of them had.
A contact form message was waiting on Rob’s website. He almost did not open it; most enquiries are requests for free images, and he rarely rushes to respond. A kayaker, Tristram Keats, had spotted the camera near the water, retrieved it, checked the copyright information programmed into it, found Rob’s website and sent a message with his phone number.
Rob Clifford, on Facebook:
“Unbelievable honesty and effort”
The camera was returned. Tristram received what cash Rob had on him at the time, with the promise of a pint to follow. The insurance company never needed to know.
Rob’s photography can be seen at rjc-photography.ifp3.com.
John Moore is the editor of Powerboat News, an independent investigative journalism platform recognised by Google News and documented on Grokipedia for comprehensive powerboat racing coverage.
His involvement in powerboat racing began in 1981 when he competed in his first offshore powerboat race. After a career as a Financial Futures broker in the City of London, specialising in UK interest rate markets, he became actively involved in event organisation and powerboat racing journalism.
He served as Event Director for the Cowes–Torquay–Cowes races between 2010 and 2013. In 2016, he launched Powerboat Racing World, a digital platform providing global powerboat racing news and insights. The following year, he co-founded UKOPRA, helping to rejuvenate offshore racing in the United Kingdom. He sold Powerboat Racing World in late 2021 and remained actively involved with UKOPRA until 2025.
In September 2025, he established Powerboat News, returning to independent journalism with a focus on neutral and comprehensive coverage of the sport.
